1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of vehicle safety devices and, more particularly, to a safety device mounted beneath a body of a vehicle and including a guard portion which is supported in front on a wheel set of the vehicle, in a compliant, telescoping manner, for both deflecting animate objects from in front of the vehicle wheels and protecting the guard portion against damage by abutment of the safety guard with certain inanimate objects during operation of the vehicle.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Buses are commonly employed for various transportation purposes. For instance, buses are widely employed in metropolitan mass transit systems. Unfortunately, there are inherent dangers associated with the operation of buses. Many of the most serious of these injuries are a result of individuals being run over by the bus, such as when a person slips and falls in the road adjacent a wheel of the bus and the bus crushes a limb or other body part of the individual. Correspondingly, inanimate objects can also be crushed.
To address these concerns, it has been proposed in the art to mount a safety guard directly in front of wheels on a bus to establish a safety barrier between the wheels and objects. More specifically, as represented by U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,462,324 and 5,735,560, it is known to mount a safety barrier to undercarriage structure of a vehicle, such as a bus, with the safety barrier including a lower edge extending directly along a ground surface. The safety barrier is fixedly supported at various locations, such as to axle, frame and/or suspension structure. The safety barrier is angled such that, if an object is encountered during movement of the bus, the safety barrier forces the object out from under the vehicle to a position out of the path of the vehicle wheels.
In addition to mass transit buses, school buses are widely employed in connection with transporting students for educational purposes. Of course, still other types of buses also exist. Certainly, each of these additional types of buses, as well as other types of vehicles such as those used in the trucking industry, can benefit from incorporating safety guards. Regardless of the type of vehicle to which the safety guard is mounted, serious damage can be done to the guard if the guard abuts an inanimate object, such as a curb, pole, mailbox or the like, during operation of the vehicle. Depending on the level of damage, the safety guard may not even be able to perform its desired safety function, thereby requiring replacement. Given the monetary cost and time associated with replacing of these safety guards, this scenario is undesirable.
Based on the above, there exists the need for a more feasible mounting arrangement for a vehicle underbody safety guard. In particular, there is seen to exist a need for a safety barrier mounting arrangement which will enable safety guards to be readily mounted to a wide range of vehicles in a manner which will protect the safety guard from significant damage when unintentionally abutting an inanimate object during operation of the vehicle, thereby prolonging the useful and effective life of the safety guard.